KYLE LARSON SWEEPS AUTO CLUB 400 RACE WEEKEND

FONTANA, Calif.
– Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series leader and Elk Grove, Calif. native Kyle
Larson (No. 42, Target Chevrolet) made Auto Club Speedway home sweet home this
weekend and atoned for runner-up finishes in each of his previous three Monster
Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts by pulling into victory lane at the 21st
Annual Auto Club 400 Sunday.

Larson’s second
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory in 116 starts comes on the heels of
winning the pole position for the race on Friday and winning Saturday’s XFINITY
Series Service King 300 race. He is the first driver to win both races and the
Cup Series qualifying run in one weekend at Auto Club Speedway.

Celebrating its
20th anniversary throughout 2017, Auto Club Speedway hosted its
28th NASCAR Cup Series race – second all-time among active
California racetracks – and crowned its 16th winning NASCAR Cup
Series driver.

“Lots of fun to
be Kyle Larson right now,” Larson said. “Our race cars are really fast in
XFINITY and Cup. Our cars are, by far, the best they’ve ever been. I feel I
have a shot to win at every race track. I came out of (Turn) 4 (on the final
lap) and I told them (the crew team) on the radio to put the bridesmaid’s dress
back in the closet. I don’t want to wear that ever again. It was a solid
weekend. Definitely the best of my NASCAR career.”

Larson, 24, is
the fourth driver to sweep the weekend of Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and
NASCAR XFINITY races at Auto Club Speedway, following the lead of Kyle Busch
(2013), Matt Kenseth (2007) and Kasey Kahne (2006).

Larson, who
finished second at Auto Club Speedway during his rookie year in 2014, led for
110 laps overall and increased his Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season
points lead to 29 over Chase Elliott.

2015 Auto Club
400 champion Brad Keselowski (No. 2, Wurth Ford) endured a battle of attrition
as his car was hit four laps into the race and on another occasion. Yet, he gradually
worked his way back to a runner-up finish.

Recording his
eighth top-10 finish in 17 career Auto Club Speedway starts and his fourth
top-10 finish on the Monster Energy
NASCAR Cup Series circuit this year, Keselowski encountered a fender bender
with six-time Auto Club Speedway champion Jimmie Johnson (No. 48, Lowe’s
Chevrolet) in Turn 4, leading to the race’s first caution flag.

“I got ran over
the back and it did a lot of damage to the car. And then I got ran over again.
The car was all torn up,” Keselowski said. “A lot of adversity but we were able
to overcome it. We executed after the restarts. It takes a little bit of execution,
good work by the team and luck the last few yellows.

“By the time
things cleared up, Kyle (Larson) was far gone. It’s impressive to me that he’s
been able to sustain it a handful of weeks in a row to start the new season.
You knew this was going to be a good track for him, and it’s the type of track
that suits his style the best.”

The Auto Club
400 featured 17 lead changes among eight different leaders, and seven caution
flags for a total of 29 laps. Four of the race’s five caution flags that
weren’t related to stage finishes dropped in the last 20 laps.

A caution
prompted Larson to pit and further refresh his tires with seven laps to go.
Only three cars stayed out of pit row during this caution including Martin Truex
Jr. (No. 78, Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Toyota), who was
running second at the time. The move paid off for Larson as he restarted third
and regained the lead on Lap 197. One more late caution, on Lap 198, pushed the
race’s final lap tally to 202.

“I was just
trying to stay calm and focused on what was ahead of me and what I needed to do
in the restarts,” Larson said. “Seems like every time I get in the lead in one
of these NASCAR races, a lot of cautions drop.”

2016 Auto Club
400 winner Johnson began the race in 37th position (out of 39) and
placed 21st. He fell two laps back of the leader in the first half of the race.

The first two
60-lap stages of the Auto Club 400 were won by Larson and Truex Jr. in
succession, with Larson winning the final 80-lap stage at Auto Club Speedway’s
two-mile oval.